Month: November, 2010

It’s really fun though, when you do something that you’ve never done before just because things around you influence you to do so. That’s what happened to me ever since I started working/training in an IT company. I started a couple of months ago and I never thought that change would come creeping into my life so soon.

What kind of change? Well, I started to have goals.

During my 21 years of existence, I never planned things. This is due to the fact that whenever I plan things, they always fail. It is as if there’s a jinx with me planning things. So I learned my lesson, and never planned things again. I do things spontaneously and I loved it. When I was job hunting, the question that I hated the most was the one asking for my plans within 5 years, or 10 years. I hated answering those questions because I really had no answer for them. I was just looking for a job so that I could finance myself and the things I want to buy, but long term plans? Hell no. I don’t have them. I didn’t even think about what age I’m gonna get married. I never thought about things as far as 1 year ahead.

But things changed this year. Maybe 2010 really was my year just like what I predicted last January. Different things happened within this year. I had a girlfriend, we broke up, I graduated, found work and now I’ll be taking the ECE board examinations. It happened so fast that I realized things really have changed within me. And I think the best part is, I had successfully formulated a long term plan for my career, thanks to the help of the people in the company I’m in right now. I just hope I can successfully complete this plan and be where I want to be before I turn 30.

As for things regarding settling down, well it’s a different thing. I haven’t thought about it yet and maybe will not think about it till I feel the need to. As of now, the important thing (and the good thing!) is I’ve already got a plan for my career. Good job me!

As a side note, I really want to visit Seoul, Korea soon. A couple of photos made me want to go up there and spend some time and learn their culture. If you want to see those photos, here’s the link for their Facebook page.

Today’s 111010! If you convert that to decimal (since it’s binary) it translates to number 23! My favorite slash birthday number! Hooray! Geeky much? Haha! I never thought about that fact till I typed those numbers in the title. I used to use that as a signature to my previous blog, although I used it in reverse.

Double Standards.

Moving on, the first thing I want to write about today is something that I wanted to write about last night but was too sleepy to do so. Actually there is a video which came out and is spreading wherein Korean actress Lee Ha Dae insulted the way Filipinos speak the English language. There were so many people (majority of them Filipinos) who got mad or insulted with what she did and asked for her to apologize. I happen to watch the said clip and upon watching it my reaction was like “Haha okay..”.

The reason I’m writing about it is that I don’t get why Filipino people were insulted with what she did. To be fair, the accent she imitated is really not the way Filipinos speak English but what I mean to say is that it was made to make people laugh right? I think it’s the same thing when Filipino comedians imitate Indians, Chinese, Japanese and other people all around the world who speak english. My point is, why does it seem that when we ourselves make fun of other people for a TV show we find it really amusing without thinking if we have insulted those that we made fun of but when other people make fun of our accents, we retaliate saying that we were insulted? A perfect example of double standards I must say. These kind of things are the ones people should not take in too seriously. Wake up people! It’s not the first time this happened and we Filipinos do it ourselves too as well as people all over the world! It’s really disappointing how shallow some people can be. Not just shallow but also “balat sibuyas” as my fellow Filipinos would say, which means thin skinned or too sensitive. I think if ever Filipinos would get mad at something like this, I suggest those people try to look at themselves first before reacting too violently.

Anyway regarding this issue, you may think that I favor Lee Da Hae because of my recent fondness of Koreans and their culture but in reality I don’t support any side. I think Lee Da Hae really made a mistake in her part since it really was not the way Filipinos speak the English language. I think what she imitated was the Chinese people. But I didn’t really find it insulting. On the other hand, I think those Filipinos who got insulted or mad with this also should check themselves. Try to look inside first before reacting too much towards an incident which was made for the amusement of people. Try to relax sometimes. Try to watch the American cartoon “Southpark” and see if you get insulted.

Work stuff.

This week was really something for me at work. Last Monday I was notified that I was going to be part of the System Engineers of the company that I was working in and that training will start on Wednesday (which is today). I was really happy about this since it was what I was really working for since our training started. I really wanted to an SE since an SE’s work is really technical and I love doing those kind of things. The only sad thing was that 2 of the members of our Greenteam, which was the name given to us trainees were, let’s say, cut off. They received the news yesterday and didn’t report to the office today. This is mainly because of their grades during the first part of our training and also, their work habits and attitudes. Anyway I don’t want to dwell in too much about that. All I want to say is that I’m happy to be part of the SE pool. Training started today and we really need to work hard to be able to be a full pledged SE since we got so much things to learn. The company also wants to deploy us ASAP. I’m happy scared but as a whole, I felt really fulfilled since my hard work during the first part of the training paid off.

Due to my happiness yesterday, I kinda joked to my fellow ECE friend that even though I don’t pass the board exams this coming Nov 27 & 28, I’d still be an engineer. A systems engineer. :p

I’ve been a Harry Potter fan ever since high school and now that the final movie is coming out, I feel the same anticipation I had when I was at Powerbooks Mall of Asia at 6:00 AM to get my copy of the final book.

The excitement is just overwhelming.

I’m just a bit sad that the movie will be shown in two parts with the 2nd one coming out in July but nonetheless I’m still excited about it. Hahaha!

Well I plan to watch both parts in 3D or better yet in IMAX. I just wish all my plans would push through and I also wish that the movie won’t disappoint fans like me.

And oh by the way, I plan to visit that “Harry Potter Land” somewhere in Florida by August next year. See Hogwarts below. Wooot!

Annyeonghi Gyeseyo.

Images are taken from Google.com’s image search. Credit goes to the owners of the photos. Thanks!

For this post, let me quote from this article. I found this really interesting since what the author said in that article is very similar to my favorite author and modern philosopher (I consider him one.), Paulo Coelho’s ideas.

“Find that pursuit that will energize you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t you are working.”

Well, it’s a bit self explanatory isn’t it? But really, if you relate this to present situation in our society more people will find this statement absurd. Most people forget their dreams in exchange of working or “making a living”. In that article, the author also specified that when people who aren’t happy with their work say they are “making a living” they are really dying inside. Everyday I see people like this. People who think they are making a fortune by working hard but in reality, they are working their selves off for nothing. They acquire money and earn so much but they really aren’t happy with their lives that they become miserable. So miserable that they spread it like a disease among their co-workers as well.

I pity these people. Really. They were born and raised in a generation that prioritizes security for the future and not their own personal happiness. Their parents have programmed their brains that having a career and being financially secured is what is important in life. I feel so sad that they cannot even experience the joy and thrill of being alive since all they do is sit in their desks, make calls or take calls or whatever they do in their jobs and then go home, sleep and prepare for another day at work. That’s the worst kind of life I or anyone could ever have. They always think that excitement is evil and will only result to bad things. They always say that happiness can come later when they retire, but what they really don’t understand is the word retire. A person retires because he or she does not have the physical capacity work anymore. So if you plan to enjoy life when you retire, then you probably don’t have the energy to do so. And in the end, you’ll rot to death not having experienced life. All you did was work your ass off for some company that didn’t even care for your existence. And that’s just sad right?

Well going back to that quote, what I really want to point out is what every wise man of his time says. Do something you like. Enthusiasm is a big part of being happy. If you don’t like what you are presently doing then stop it. Find something that suits your lifestyle. Something that puts a smile on your face every single time you do it. But people should also be careful doing this. Sometimes life presents us with situations wherein we think that this work, or this thing is what we really want to do but in reality it’s not. We should always know what we want, what our dreams are. If you experience this situation where you loved what you were doing but in the long run made you miserable, I suggest you abandon that and move on to something else. Don’t regret wasting time doing that because it’s all part of life. Like what I always say to my friends, charge it to experience. Life is all about experiences and what we take of it.

This may sound stupid coming from a 21 year old, but I don’t expect everyone to share the same vision that I have. But what I want people to know is that as of this moment in time, there is a rebellion against the death of the soul. Young people like me are starting to realize what’s important in life, and that is being happy by doing what you love. And following each and everyone’s dreams. I feel very lucky to have lived in this generation where people my age are starting to be awakened to what life really is. I just hope that more people will realize this thus producing a world worth living in. A world where people don’t make fun of other people for being crazy. Craziness is part of achieving our dreams.

Earlier I saw several posts in my Facebook news feed from my friends regarding the lottery. I’m quite amazed on how positive people can be regarding winning the jackpot (which is as I’ve heard, about P300M!). Well, I’ve got nothing against lottery, much more on positivity. I advocate these two things since I myself would like to win the lottery (well who wouldn’t right?). As for positivity, I think it is an essential part of our lives since it does add (although mysteriously) to our ability to accomplish things that we really want. I can talk about this topic for a whole day if you want me to but what I’m really amazed about is how people can be hopeful about things like this, things which are nearly impossible. I guess these kinds of things give people hope. They cling to the idea of winning the jackpot as if it would bring them the happiness which everyone wants to achieve.

But the real question is, will money bring them real happiness? In Paulo Coelho’s book “The Winner Stands Alone”, he says

” People are never satisfied. If they have little they want more. If they have more, they still want more. Once they have more, they wish they could be happy with little, but are incapable of making the slightest effort in that direction. “

I know some of our dreams require money to be achieved. I’m actually in that position right now wherein my dreams are being impeded by financial problems but it makes me think, what if? What if I already have everything I want from the start? What if the things I want was given to me as gifts and I wouldn’t have to work a single second or minute to obtain such things? Then I guess life wouldn’t be challenging and in the long run it’ll get boring.

So getting back to my topic about lotteries and positivity, again I am not against those two or am I bitter about rich people. But if ever a person wins or obtains that amount of money, then what’ll happen to his life? Will he or she still strive to achieve personal perfection by acquiring skills and knowledge? I’m guessing that in most cases a person who wins will never invest on knowledge, experience and skills anymore knowing that they can get anything they want in a blink of an eye. Maybe for some that is a good thing but as for me, I wouldn’t want a life like that. I’d rather work for things I want and achieve my dreams by experience and hard work. It’s just like climbing a mountain or finishing a race. The feeling of accomplishment is at its peak when you know you’ve worked hard and passed through every single obstacle that the path of life has offered you.

Before starting to write, I needed to check my dictionary to make sure “disinterest” is really a word. I’ve been having these unsure situations regarding my vocabulary recently. I think this is due to the fact that I haven’t been reading like I used to back in college. So there goes my wake up call, I need to read again. I guess I’ll find time to read some blogs here at WordPress. Seems like a good place to start. Haha.

Anyway this post isn’t about my vocabulary or anything about it. This is about my disinterest in taking the coming ECE board examinations. Last September I’ve started working in an IT company which means that I don’t need to have a license to be able to succeed and go up the ranks in this industry. I know people are saying that I still should take since my “value” as a person would go up but for me, well it’s just a waste of time. When I should’ve been just focusing on my work and training, I still have that heavy thought about the coming board examinations.

Well that’s just one reason. Another would be the fact that even if I don’t get a license I’d still earn almost the same as those who have theirs. In the Philippine setting, reality is license is just for those people who want careers that are really technical in nature. Example would be the ones operating the systems, equipments and all those things. And where would those careers be? Overseas. In the Middle East and in ships and boats. Well maybe there are some here locally but the way I see it, with or without your license a person will still be successful. It all depends on the person himself/herself. Honestly, I’d like to work overseas too but not in the Middle Eastern countries or in ships and boats. Singapore would always be my first choice with Korea (of course!), Japan and the US as a close second.

One last reason why I don’t want to take the exams is the nature of the exams itself. Honestly, the way I see it, some of the questions being posted in our coaching sessions (which came from previous board examination questions) are plain non sense. People, our course is Electronics and Communications Engineering. Of course we need to know about Chemistry and Physics but the things that we need to know about them are just the basics. We don’t need to know about viscosity and memorize the whole periodic table. We don’t need to know what element is in liquid form in the morning and solid at night time. Those things are for Chemical Engineers, Chemists and Physicists to know. What we need to know are what we must do whenever a particular problem occurs in an electronic circuit or an electronic communications system. What we need to know are the protocols governing and how communications systems work. No wonder those who top the examinations end up working in the academe. For if the nature of the exams would be practical applications, then Filipino licensed ECEs would start making innovative products that will make the Philippines proud. I’m not saying that being a professor and working in the academe is a bad choice for an ECE graduate, teachers and professors are needed, but what the Philippines really need are engineers who think for themselves and innovate. Engineers who will work for this country and not engineers who will work for other countries. Generations of engineers have already done that and helped other countries succeed while leaving our country in its pitiful state.

Anyway, maybe I’ll just push through in taking the exams this coming 27th and 28th. I’ll just do it for my parents since I owe my college education to them. I’ll still do my best though like what I always do since I’m a bit of a perfectionist myself. But I’m not really expecting. I want to pass and get that piece of paper called license but if ever I fail, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important for me now is to be able to get certifications. That’s what I really need for my work right now. And if ever I need to chose which to prioritize, I’d go with certifications without thinking twice.

Annyeonghi Gyeseyo.

P.S. I forgot to do my 1 Korean lesson a day habit today because all I did was sleep (it’s a non working holiday btw). Will try to get back on track tomorrow.